Tuesday, January 20, 2009

No Bail for Gangsters? Wow...what a concept!

I was pleased to see that after a 4 hour hearing in Calgary yesterday, a judge denied bail to 3 suspects involved in a violent gang shooting in December. I can't imagine what needed 4 hours to be discussed in court for this lengthy period, but I can assume that the judge needed convincing to keep them behind bars, pending their trial. One of the accused lawyers said afterward " My client is extremely upset at the prospect of having his liberty taken away from him."..... What??? I am sure that the people of Calgary are extremely upset at having their "liberty" taken away from also. The escalating gang war has made many Calgarians uneasy, as these thugs have taken their war into city streets and public places.

I am at a loss as to why these criminals keep getting bail and released back onto the street. This "catch and release" strategy makes me shake my head. I cannot believe that the City Police are unable to wipe these gangs out with ease? Why?....

1) Surely the Calgary Police Service know who the gang members are. ( and where to find them.)2) We are dealing with a street gang, no a century old organization. These chaps are probably not the best organized group. 3) Although I cannot confirm any public numbers, I am sure that we are talking about dozens, not hundreds of gang members.

The CPS has a slick produced site at www.getalife.ca which outlines their gang strategy. Its a nice start, but not deep enough in my opinion.

Chief Hansen promised to double the size of violent crime suppression team, pull over suspected gang members on violations as minor as littering, and put pressure on the gang members' families through new provincial legislation that allows police to confiscate anything purchased with money obtained from crime. He is also quoted as follows:

"We have, on good information, the parents of some of these gang members are benefiting from the proceeds that are obtained from the trafficking of drugs, the sale of drugs, and other crimes associated with that," he said. "When we make those links sufficient to satisfy a court, we're going after the proceeds of those crimes as they are reflected either in homes, cars or businesses."

We will see if they in fact follow through with this threat, or if it was just public posturing following the New Years Day shootings. Maybe its time to reallocate some of the officers away from their Radar/Multinova duties and into rounding up the bad guys once and for all.